The film is being fast-tracked into production after receiving an $18.5 million USD tax credit from the state of California. That was the largest credit handed out among the 18 films recently treated to credits.

"We are thrilled with the opportunity to shoot Akira in California," said Ravi Mehta, Warner Bros' executive VP of physical production and finance. "The availability of top-notch crew members, plus the wide variety of location choices and predictable weather are second to none."

As Deadlineexplains, the credit requires that the film starts shooting within 180 days, meaning this thing is definitely going into production this year. As of yet, though, there is no firm release date for Akira, so stay tuned.